Simple Breath Technique to Erase Stress and Lose Weight
Did you know that stress is screwing with your physical health and body weight? I’m pretty sure that once you read how stress can sabotage your hormones (all linked to chakra centers), it will amaze you. And the deep breathing solution I’m going to share is so simple, it will amaze you too.
Stress is a double whammy for weight – it increases our appetites and leads to overeating or poor food choices, then makes our bodies hold on to the fat. The solution is not extreme dieting, which causes more stress, but knowing how to stop the stress reactions.
Cortisol, known as the “stress hormone,” starts signaling the body to replenish your food stores. Plus, it stimulates fat and carbohydrate metabolism for fast energy, and stimulates the release of insulin to maintain blood sugar levels. So, when stress causes your cortisol to surge, your appetite will be stimulated while your metabolism is slowed down, because your body wants to maintain an adequate supply of glucose to deal with the next “threat.”
So how can you tame the tension?
Take a Break and Breathe
Put your hands on your tummy, below your navel, and feel it rise and fall with your breath. We often breathe very shallowly or even hold our breath when we’re stressed. Simple deep belly breathing can both calm the release of stress chemicals in the body and oxygenate your cells.
Try this combination of breath and focused attention called Piko-piko breathing…
“Piko-piko is a special Hawaiian breathing technique that simultaneously relaxes and energizes the body,” says Dr. Serge Kahili King, a Hawaiian shaman. Using shamanic techniques and chakra colors, imagine breathing in bright yellow energy from the sun into your Solar Plexus or navel area and breathing out your stress. Or pull in inspiration from the heavens, visualizing violet or white light coming in with the breath through the Crown Chakra, and exhale your stress by breathing it out with awareness at the bottom of your feet.
“I know, I know, this seems almost too simple,” says Dr. King. “But it does work.”
Learn more about the stress-weight connection in THE CHAKRA ENERGY DIET, available on Amazon Kindle to download to any reading device.
Namaste!
Becca Chopra
http://www.thechakras.org/
Source: https://chakradiaries.wordpress.com/2016/03/18/simple-breath-technique-to-erase-stress-and-lose-weight/
